How premium South Australian flour found its way to the best bakeries in the Middle East

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Premium quality flour grown and harvested in South Australia is being used to create delicate high-end pastries and bakery products in the Middle East and South East Asia.

South Australian company Flinders Ranges Premium Grain have recently agreed to expand the supply of premium flour to Dubai, following similar success with their high grade product into India.

The group is now focused on breaking in to the Thailand market with preliminary discussions underway, while the African market is also on the radar.

Wheat being harvested in South Australia.

Flinders Ranges Premium Grain CEO Peter Barrie said he was delighted the business was making progress in emerging global markets.

“Securing supply into Dubai was a direct result of our successful long-standing relationship with our partner in India,’’ he said.

“We have been selling our premium flour to Bakers Circle in India more than a decade which is used to supply quick service restaurants such as Subway and other high end baker products.

“With Bakers Circle expanding into Dubai this has led to the same flour product now being supplied to that market.

The company will export more than 100 tonnes of the premium flour to Dubai in the coming weeks and expects to greatly increase this amount in the coming months.

He said the appeal of the premium flour included its strong traceability from the farm to the end user.

“It’s all well and good to have a piece of paper saying where the flour came from but our product stands up to any audit, meeting critical control points which can be verified.

“This includes proof of separate storage, warehousing and natural ageing techniques for the flour. We don’t use bleaching or enhancers with the product. And that is something the food industry in constantly looking for.

“It is a niche market and we don’t intend to compete for large scale supply with our specific product.’’

The export announcement follows on from a recent visit to India following meetings with Indian hotel chains, setting up trials for supply to three of India’s largest hotel chains including the Taj Group, JW Marriot and ITC Hotels.